Relationship Recovery Plan
by yoshiki-tan
Summary: Aomine screwed up but he can't figure out how, Kise's upset, and the rest of them are just irritated by the idiot couple. Set in the future. AoKise, MidoTaka, some KagaKuro.
1. Okay, maybe they're not so fine

**Disclaimer: **Do not own.

Set some time in the future, following the jobs!AU. Enjoy!

* * *

As the front door slams firmly shut with that last tearful wail of "You're horrible, Aominecchi!" still reverberating in the living room, even Aomine gets the feeling that he has screwed up. Big time.

But what did he do this time?

Aomine sprawls out on the couch and thinks really hard about what happened just now. Well, as hard as he could and would, anyway. He thinks and thinks, and it hasn't been ten minutes before he decides that all this contemplation is making his head hurt.

It's eight o'clock on a Friday night; surely he would have better things to do than trying to figure out why Kise just suddenly snapped and broke down and darted out of their shared apartment (in tears, no less). It's not as though this is the first time the blond acted like this, anyway.

Okay, maybe this is a little more serious than those times before. The darting out of the apartment in tears part is a first. But Kise's always been temperamental, and Aomine just can't figure out what the hell is going on in that blond head of his. Even after all this time.

And that just pisses him off all the more.

He contemplates chasing after the idiot, and then he decides that he can't give a damn. Maybe he would try phoning Kise later, but he's almost certain that the blond would have switched his phone off.

"Ah, what the heck," Aomine mutters irritably. "Screw it."

He reaches for the remote and flips through the television channels. Retarded variety show – switch. Retarded game show – switch. Switch, switch, switch.

After a shitload of channels, a soap opera is playing on the screen. Aomine stares a little harder and remembers that this is probably the drama that Satsuki's obsessed over. What's so good about this crap anyway?

The girl in the soap is sobbing hysterically, and for a moment Aomine almost thinks that it's Kise's tear-stained face on the screen. Then he curses himself. The crying and screeching from the actress are making his head throb. He almost switches the channel before making out what she's screaming.

"You don't understand me at all!" The girl says shrilly, jabbing a finger at the guy in front of her. "You're so insensitive, you don't ever care about what I want."

That sounds really familiar to Aomine. Kise's probably said the same things to him before, once or twice.

Fine, maybe more than that, but he doesn't exactly want to start counting. As a matter of fact, he believes that Kise might have said that just now. Something like, "Aominecchi, you insensitive jerk!" Probably.

The dude in the drama reaches the girl in one swift motion and pulls her into his arms. Kinda unrealistic, if you ask Aomine. Who could stand such hysterics in real life? The girl's chest is big, though, but even he knows that it's not the point.

"I'm sorry, baby," the guy coos, and Aomine wants to puke. "I'm sorry I said that to you, I won't do it anymore. So please forgive me?"

The girl looks up with her eyes shining. "Of course."

That is the last straw for Aomine. He turns off the television, pressing down hard on the remote, and finds his thoughts inadvertently flowing to Kise. He's never sweet-talked the blond like that after fights and they're still fine, aren't they?

Aomine looks around the empty living room. Okay, maybe they're not so fine.

It _has _to besomething he said that upset the blond. Actually, Aomine has a pretty good idea about what it is. But he just can't figure out _why _Kise was so upset about it. They were seeing each other for the first time in two weeks (the busy pilot's finally back from Rome), neither of them has work tomorrow, and even the atmosphere was just right (or so Aomine thought). It was the most normal thing to say.

Or was it? He wouldn't know, right?

"Ugh, this is too troublesome," Aomine grumbles. He can try calling up Satsuki or Tetsu to ask them what they think, but he can already imagine their responses. Satsuki would put her hands on her waist and berate him for 'saying mean stuff to the poor thing again', while Tetsu would just give him a unnerving stare and tell him something along the lines of, 'this has happened many times already, Aomine-kun'.

Besides, it's more likely than not that Tetsu will be too occupied with that redheaded idiot to answer his call anyway. That thought makes Aomine snort loudly.

All of a sudden it starts pouring, and Aomine rushes off to shut the windows. "Damn weather," he curses, before realising that Kise has not brought an umbrella with him when he stomped out. Aomine looks around and sees that the idiot didn't even bring along his wallet for fuck's sake. Where the hell is he now? Is he wet, or has he found shelter somewhere? Is he still crying?

"Screw it," Aomine mutters again, and reaches for his phone. The call is picked up almost immediately, and Aomine feels his chest constrict slightly (fuck, is he a fucking schoolgirl?), but it is not Kise's voice coming through the phone but the toneless recorded message.

"The number you have reached is not available. Please try again later."

Kise's turned off his phone just as Aomine has expected, but suddenly he is at a loss of what to do. Half an hour has past, and the blond could be anywhere now. He's never tried to make up with the blond when they fought in the past, so he needs some advice pretty damn badly right now, but calling Satsuki or Tetsu won't be of help. Who else can he ask?

Not Akashi. Definitely _not _Akashi. The very notion of approaching his former captain for relationship advice (what more, it's about Kise) makes Aomine feel very uncomfortable. Preferably someone collected and able to give some solid advice.

Aomine really doesn't want to talk to the person who just came to mind, but he knows he has no choice.

"Can't believe I'm actually doing this," he groans.


	2. It's your own fault for being stupid

**A/N: **Yes, Ahomine did decide to call Midorima XD

* * *

Midorima is actually enjoying his evening.

Dinner was good (though all he said was a terse "It's fine"), he is on a two-day break from work and even though Takao is edging closer and closer to him on the sofa (does that idiot think he can't notice that?), this evening is still better than most.

Then his phone starts ringing loudly.

In a conditioned reflex, Midorima crosses the room in an instant to reach his phone. In his peripheral vision he sees Takao sinking back into the sofa with a glum expression. It cannot be helped if he has to go back to the hospital, but he still feel slightly guilty. He was about to pick up the call when he sees the name displayed on the screen.

"Shin-chan?" Takao inquires after about ten seconds, but Midorima can hear the hopefulness in his voice. "Aren't you gonna answer it?"

Midorima stares at the still-ringing phone for two more seconds before he decides that Aomine might actually be phoning for something important.

"Yes?"

"Midorima?" Aomine's gruff voice comes through the speaker. "Listen, don't hang up on me later, okay?"

A part of Midorima is already regretting picking up Aomine's call. Why did he even think that he might have something important to say?

"That depends on what you are going to say," he states guardedly. Takao has abandoned the couch to lean towards the phone curiously. _Who is it? _He mouths, and it does not help that his breath is tickling Midorima's neck.

"I'm desperate here, why would I call _you _of all people if I weren't?" Aomine grunts, but fairly enough, he does sound rather desperate. Strange.

"Stop wasting my time, just get on with it," Midorima snaps, thought part of his annoyance is due to Takao, who has just decided that lolling on his shoulder is the best position to be in.

"Uh… yeah. Right." There is a short pause as Aomine swallows on the other end. "Don't hang up on me!" He adds hastily.

"Fine, fine! I won't hang up!" Even though Midorima is already dreading what Aomine is going to blurt out of that uncouth mouth of his, it's rare for him to be so disconcerted, so Midorima deems it prudent to listen – for a while, anyway.

Aomine swallows again. "Okay, uh, here goes."

It is not long before Midorima regrets his decision.

* * *

It is not long before Aomine finishes his recount, and it's quiet on the other end of the phone. Except for some sniggering which has been getting louder and louder during the past few minutes. Aomine figures that it's Midorima's loverboy.

"Oi, say something won't you!"

Aomine can almost hear the sound of Midorima adjusting his specs. "Why are you even asking me about this? Ask Momoi or someone else!"

"You're not the only one, I feel awkward here too, okay? Look, I called _you_, so at least _try _to help? Besides, I thought you could give some – some relationship advice 'cause you're in a relationship so – "

There's a really loud chortle, followed by an equally loud 'TWACK'.

"That hurts, Shin-chan," a wail passes through the phone.

"Shut up," Midorima hisses back, and it sounds kinda muffled, like he's placed a hand over the phone or something. Aomine snorts. Yeah, as though nobody knows about the whole live-in lover thing. But Aomine has some urgent business here, and the lovey-dovey bickering is somehow fueling his annoyance.

"Uh, Midorima?"

"_Stop laughing." _One more muffled hiss, but Loverboy's still laughing. "As I was saying," Midorima doesn't sound muffled anymore, but he sounds pissed off now. For Midorima, anyway. "How would I know what you should do now? It's your own fault for being stupid. Even if it's you, it's still ridiculous to have said that."

"What's so wrong about it?"

Aomine's sure that he's more pissed off than Midorima when his question sets off another round of snickers in the background. He wants to yell 'What the hell's so funny?' into the phone, but uh, it'll probably be rude, since he's the one asking for help here. Not that he's getting any, though.

"S-sorry Shin-chan, but I – I can't believe he said that!" Loverboy manages between laughs. "He actually said 'let's fuck'! '_Let's fuck_'! –" Then he was overcome by another irritating-as-hell fit.

"That's why I'm asking, _what's so wrong about it_?"

"Are you seriously asking that question?" Even Midorima sounds taken aback. When Aomine doesn't answer, he sighs and continues.

"Fine, listen," Midorima snaps. "Seeing that it's you, you probably can't help it – " what was that fucking supposed to mean? " – but for _normal _people, it's something extremely tactless. And crude. Not to mention uncouth, vulgar, rude, improper and – "

"Okay, okay! I get it!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, I shouldn't have said that."

"I'm telling you that it was foul and insensitive. Do you even understand?"

"Yes, I get it!" Heck, it's like Midorima's reading off a thesaurus or something. Aomine has kinda forgotten how naggy he can get, but now the horrid memories are resurfacing again.

Midorima doesn't sound convinced, but he continues anyway, much to Aomine's relief. Or maybe he's just running out of synonyms. "You can't just say that to somebody, especially notsomeone like _Kise_. Shouldn't you know that by now?"

"I – I know, but – " Actually, after those two weeks, Aomine just wanted to hold Kise close and kiss him silly (Kise really likes soft kisses on his lips) and what comes after that – well, now that Aomine thinks about it properly, it doesn't matter as much. "It just slipped out! I don't know how either!"

"That's why you're tactless, vulgar, rude – "

"In that situation, what would _you_ have said?"

"Something like – wait, why am I telling you this?" Apparently Loverboy finds that amusing because the laughter resurfaces. "How – how would I know?"

Aomine pushes his hair back in frustration. It's almost nine, and the damned rain's only gotten heavier. So where could Kise have gone in this downpour? He's starting to get really worried now, something that he's never felt before.

"And the main issue is not your foul language, but your lousy attitude. I hope you realise that."

That's true too. He should have gone after Kise, heck, he should have stopped him from leaving in the first place. Actually, he shouldn't have gotten angry with Kise from the start. It was his own fault for being an 'insensitive jerk', and he knows it himself.

"Look, I want to make up, but I have no damn clue how to. He's turned off his phone."

Midorima makes an irritated noise. "Well, how have you apologised to him before?"

"Uh." Fuck. It's probably too late, but Aomine only realises now (with a pang of guilt) that he hasn't really apologised properly to Kise before. A ruff on his head or a light kiss to the nape of his neck is usually all it takes for the blond to be all smiles again. All smiles, even though the corners of his eyes are still wet.

Ah, goddamn it, Aomine really wants to crush Kise to his chest right now.

"Don't tell me you haven't," unfortunately for Aomine, Midorima is sharp enough to figure that out. Damn.

"Fine, I haven't apologised before! Happy?"

Midorima sighs again and pushes up his specs (Aomine imagines). "This really has nothing to do with me, and I don't know how Kise puts up with you – " Aomine wonders how Loverboy puts up with _him _" – but you should just sincerely tell him that you're sorry. Refrain from using your usual coarse language. If he's still upset, take him out for dinner at a nice place or something. Kise is easily coaxed, so it should not be too hard."

"If that doesn't work," Loverboy quips, "just push him down and – OUCH! Shin-chan, what was that for?"

"_Shut up_," Midorima barks, before his tone goes back to normal. "Anyway, do you understand?"

"Yeah." Once he can get through Kise's phone, he'll tell him that he's sorry, so would he please come home, or he can go and fetch him, wherever he is. "Uh, Midorima, I gotta go."

"Please refrain from involving me in your ridiculous affairs in the future."

The weirdo is curt as usual, but at least he listened and gave (some extent) of advice. "I'll try not to. Uh, thanks."

Midorima's answer to that apparently is hanging up the phone. Aomine's still not sure whether he made the right choice to ask the horoscope weirdo, but hey, it would still be better than asking Akashi. He can just imagine those menancing mismatched eyes turning on him, and Akashi will go something like, "Daiki, can you tell me why you decided to ask about _my _opinionon your _personal affairs_ with Ryouta?"

Scary.

Wait, why the heck is he thinking about Akashi? He should be calling Kise. Even though his phone's probably still turned off, there's no harm trying, right?

In that moment Aomine's own phone starts vibrating in his palm. He looks at it hopefully, thinking it might just be Kise calling, but it's not. It's Tetsu, of all people. Weird. Tetsu almost never calls, so it should be something important.

"Tetsu?"

"Aomine-kun," whoa, Tetsu sounds pissed. Whatever reason it might be for, it's not good. He can be as scary as Akashi sometimes. Not good.

"Will you please come and get Kise-kun back already?"

Wait, wha?


	3. Can you throw Kise-kun into the tub?

**A/N:** Merry Christmas folks ^_^

* * *

"Aomine-kun, are you listening?" Kuroko's voice is bringing on danger-zone, and that snaps Aomine out of his momentary confusion immediately.

"Yeah, sorry," he says quickly. "Wait, Kise's at your house?"

"Yes, we met him when we were out for dinner," Aomine supposes that 'we' includes the idiot redhead, while Kuroko continues. "He was drenched and crying, so we decided to bring him back first. He wouldn't stop clinging to me, and he kept telling us not to contact you.

"I don't know what happened this time – " and it doesn't sound like he wants to find out either, he just sounds annoyed " – but it has to be Aomine-kun's fault, so just take him back already."

Normally, Aomine would have indignantly protested about the 'has to be your fault' part, but it really _is _his fault, and he also doesn't want to push Kuroko's temper further. On top of that, the relief washing over him now is, well, very relieving.

"How's he now?" 'Is he still crying' is what Aomine wanted to ask, but somehow he couldn't get that out.

"Kagami-kun is trying to convince Kise-kun to get into the bath – "

" – OI! Get a hold of yourself! Would it kill you to take a damn bath?!" Aomine hears a loud and rather angry yell in the background all of a sudden –

" – and he does not seem to be very convincing." Kuroko finishes evenly, as though he hasn't been interrupted at all.

Well, that's pretty damn obvious; who shouts at a crying (probably) person like that? "You," a small voice in the back of Aomine's head says dryly, making him feel guilty all over again. It also made him swallow back the string of curses directed at Kagami, for yelling at Kise. His Kise.

"… I'll be right there." Aomine reaches for his jacket. "Listen, Tetsu, just make Kise take a bath, alright? He'll catch a cold like this.

There's a pause, and then it sounds like Kuroko's smiling. "This isn't like you, Aomine-kun."

"What?" Aomine demands, but Kuroko only says, "See you later, Aomine-kun" before hanging up.

Tetsu can be so infuriating sometimes, but Aomine doesn't have time to think about that right now. Sticking his phone into the pocket of his jeans, he grabs his wallet and an umbrella before bolting out of the door.

* * *

Kuroko stares down at the pitiful figure stubbornly hugging his knees on the bathroom floor.

"Kise-kun," he sighs. "Please take a bath. The water is getting cold."

"Just let me fall sick," the blond sniffs in response.

This is getting nowhere. "If it's to make Aomine-kun worry, it is not a very good approach."

"Eh? No, I – this isn't – " Kise's stammers are cut short by a violent sneeze. Rubbing at his eyes, he sinks his head between his knees again. "I'm pathetic, Kurokocchi. This isn't the first time we've fought, but still, I …"

"If that's the case, why don't you call Aomine-kun back?" Kuroko was tempted to just shove the phone in Kise's ear during the call with Aomine. As a matter of fact, he is starting to wonder why he did not do that.

"It's no good, if I talked to him, I'll just start crying again and make him mad and …"

Kise's voice trailed off, and it seems like he might already start crying again. This is not good. It took just about all the persuasion skills Kuroko possessed (with _no _help from an impatient and almost-swearing Kagami, not to mention the multitudes of curious glances on the street) for Kise to calm down.

After that, they manage to half-coax, half coerce the drenched blond back to the apartment. Somewhere along the way, between the sniffles and muffled babbles of "don't call Aominecchi" and "insensitive idiot", Kuroko and Kagami figured that this is another spat with Aomine – as though it was not obvious enough to begin with.

"Please take a bath." Kuroko makes another attempt, but of course, it does not work; instead, the blond had curled up a little tighter. On an impulse, Kuroko decides to try something else. "Kagami-kun, can you come over here for a bit?"

"Yeah?" The redhead appears at the door.

"Can you throw Kise-kun into the tub?"

"_Hah_?"

"Aomine-kun will get angry if Kise-kun falls sick because of such a stupid reason. We don't want him to fall sick either, right?"

Kagami considers that for a brief moment before he nods. "Yeah. Can't be helped, since he's so stubborn."

"Wait, wait, it's okay!" Kise gets up all of a sudden, waving his hands in front of him. "I'll go in, I'll go in."

"You sure?" Kagami eyes him suspiciously.

"Yeah, I will! So you don't have to throw me in."

"Uh – okay," the redhead looks fairly relieved, so to speak. "You, uh, can change into the clothes on the shelf outside later."

"… Thanks." Kise manages a small smile, but Kuroko is already dragging Kagami away, for Kise gives another sneeze right after that. He slides the door shut and glances at the clock hanging on the living room wall, which reads nine-thirty.

"Aomine's coming?" Kagami asks, wiping perspiration off his forehead.

"Yes, he should be reaching – " in that second, the phone starts ringing " – soon."

"_Damn _– " Aomine's loud curse roars through the receiver immediately when Kuroko answers the phone. Kuroko decides that it will be a good idea to hold the phone at arm's length away from him. Kagami flinches visibly.

"They just told me there's this emergency at work," Aomine continues gruffly. "Didn't catch what exactly it was though. So I can't come over now. Listen, Tetsu, if Kise wants to go home, tell him that the spare key is under the – "

There is a flash of lightning, followed by deep rumbles of thunder over the pouring storm.

"… Can you let him stay the night there?"

It's not like they can or would throw Kise out at this point, so Kuroko sighs and says yes.

"Thanks. I'll go over tomorrow." There is a pause as though Aomine is thinking about something. "But if Kise wants to go back or something, tell him that the spare key's under the floor mat."

* * *

When Aomine finally reaches home, it is already past midnight.

The 'emergency' turned out to be nothing. There were two teenage muggers – or _pretender _muggers, to be more exact – who tried and failed to rob an old lady with a pair of compasses.

Or two pairs, but Aomine can't be bothered with the details. The whole point is that there were enough people on duty to take out a couple of kids, but for some reason they had to call him back. He ended up taking their statements (a bunch of crap), and the entire time he was trying to suppress himself from yelling out "what the fuck is wrong with you kids".

Even though it is obvious that lock is still in the way he left it, Aomine still reaches half-hopefully underneath the doormat. The spare key is still there, untouched. Of course it still is, what else did he expect? He tells himself that, but the feeling he gets when he opens the door into a completely barren house still hits him hard.

The thought that he might feel lonely never occurred to Aomine. Heck, Kise is away about half the time, and Aomine has a truckload of work more often than not. But still, without Kise's happy chatter and smiles and warmth to fill the emptiness, the apartment seems too big all of a sudden.

Ah – damn it, why won't the morning come quicker?

Aomine falls asleep thinking about how he would kiss Kise, after they make up, so hard that the blond melts into his arms (but maybe, just _maybe_, handcuffing him to the bed wouldn't be a bad idea either – after the kissing, of course).


	4. The worst love luck in this decade

The telephone is ringing shrilly.

Making no attempt to get up, Aomine grunts irritably and rolls over on the bed. The telephone does not stop ringing, however, and even the pillow over his face is unable to drown out the sharp rings. Why did he even let Kise set such an annoying tune in the first place?

After a while (why the heck is somebody calling so persistently this early in the morning?), Aomine finally gives up and walks to the living room to answer the call.

"Hello?"

A small "eep!" is heard from the speaker, before the line goes dead.

…What the hell?

Aomine slams the phone back into the receiver and sinks into the couch, sleepiness all gone. A prank call? At seven thirty-six on a Saturday morning?

Eep, the phone said. Eep.

What kind of person calls for so long, only to squeak 'eep!' and hang up the moment the phone's answered?!

But seeing how the person hung up almost immediately when he answered the call, it makes more sense if it were a misplaced call, actually. Now that Aomine thinks about it. the small panicky noise sounds kind of like Kise – the sort of nervous squeal he'd make when Aomine walks in on him eating the lasts of the cake (Aomine doesn't even like cake).

_Nah_, he must be going crazy thinking about Kise, but then Aomine knows that voice to well to miss it. Kise's phone is still off though, when Aomine snaps up to return the call. He decides to phone Kuroko instead and trudges back to the bedroom to retrieve his mobile. Before he can call Kuroko, however, Kuroko is already calling him.

"Tetsu?" Aomine frowns. "Did anything happen?"

"Kise-kun says he has a photoshoot today at 11am – " _crap, _he'd completely forgotten about Kise's part time job " – so he needs to go back and get his things. But he also says that he doesn't want to see you, so he can't go home at the moment."

So it _was _him who called just now, to check if Aomine were at home? God, the guy can be so dense sometimes.

"Just tell him to come home! We can talk it out properly." Aomine exhales.

"Actually, I just told him that there was an emergency at work, and you had to go back." Kuroko says evenly. "So Kise-kun will be headed back after he has breakfast."

Kuroko has these spurts of pure genius at times – helpful times.

"Aomine-kun," Kuroko continues, and he starts to sound a little threatening. "It's not my place to say such things, but since we got involved anyway, please use this chance to make up with Kise-kun. We can tell that he's very upset, even though he tries to hide it."

"I will," Aomine says earnestly.

"This is not my place either, but I also think it will be a good idea to bolt the door shut once Kise-kun reaches home. You can also consider bolting Kise-kun up, although that would depend on your personal preference." With one last, smirk-laden "Good luck, Aomine-kun", Kuroko hangs up.

Oddly enough, Aomine has actually been contemplating both options before Kuroko even brought them up. Now… where did he stick those handcuffs again? But before he can start his search for them, his phone lights up with a text… from Midorima.

_Today Virgos have the worst love luck in this decade_, the message reads. _Anything to do with love and romance is bound to go so wrong that it makes you want to die._

… Hah? The heck is this?

Aomine is so befuddled by the creepy text that he decides to call the horoscope freak to demand what the hell it is supposed to mean. Midorima answers almost immediately.

"What."

"_What _'what'? I'm the one who wants to ask 'what'! What's the meaning of the text you just sent me?"

"Is it not written out clearly enough for you?"

"Yes – I mean, _no_, it's not _that_! So am I not supposed to do anything related to love, according to your horoscope god or something?"

"There is no '_horoscope god_'," Midorima snaps. "But yes, that's basically what it means. Every endeavour in that aspect will fail without a doubt, and complications so grave that – "

"It makes me want to die, yeah," Aomine snorts. "Sure."

Midorima clicks his tongue irritably. "It doesn't matter to me whether you heed it or not, but you'll have to bear the consequences on your own."

Aomine was in the middle of producing another snort, but Midorima's creepy words stopped him. This whole horoscope business is crap, as far as Aomine's concerned, but he can't help but think about all those times where it wasn't as crappy as he made it out to be.

Like that time (okay, a few times) in middle school, when Midorima's lucky pencil helped him to actually pass multiple-choice tests with flying colours, which shocked everyone – including Aomine himself.

And that time in high school, when Aomine ran into Midorima on the streets, and saw a falling flowerpot narrowly – and miraculously – miss the bespectacled boy by mere inches. Aomine was certain that it was going to hit his head – but it just _didn't_.

So _maaaaybe _horoscopes aren't just pure nonsense.

This time – _just for this time_, it doesn't mean that he's become a horoscope freak too! – Aomine decides to play it safe. It's not like he can afford to screw up worse than he already has.

"… So what should I do?"

Much to Aomine's irritation, Midorima adopts a superior tone when he begins speaking again. "Fortunately for you, there is a lucky item which is able to annul your poor luck. I happened to have one in my house, so you can have it if you want."

There is a snort in the background which Aomine identifies as Loverboy. "You _happened_ to have one? More like you especially went out to get one, Shin-chan!"

"Sh – shut up!" Midorima barks, but he can't hide the embarrassment in his voice. The sounds go muffled again, so Aomine assumes that Midorima is putting a hand over the receiver, but the irritated hisses of "Give me back my pyjama top _now_" and "Put on some proper clothes" are clearly audible.

"Uh, I'll be right there." Aomine says quickly, because he's starting to feel really uncomfortable.

After he hangs up, Aomine realises that there isn't a lot of time to spare. It's almost eight, so Kise might be leaving Kuroko's house already for all he knew – and the taxi journey to and fro Midorima's house will take more than half an hour. It's only a fifteen-minute bus ride to get home from Kuroko's house, though.

_Never mind that for now, _Aomine thinks as he slams the front door behind him.

* * *

Looking at the new text message he'd just received, Kuroko sighs.

"What is it?" Kagami asks, while doing the dishes they used for breakfast.

"Aomine-kun told us to stall Kise-kun for a bit."

"This guy is so troublesome," Kagami sighs too, but stops complaining when Kuroko pecks him lightly on the cheek.

"Er – " all of a sudden Kise is standing in the living room, with a awkward smile on his face. "Um, sorry for the trouble, and thanks for letting me stay the night. I'll return Kagamicchi's clothes next – "

"Kise-kun," Kuroko starts evenly. "Actually there was too much food leftover from just now – "

" – There isn't –"

" – There is, Kagami-kun, so does Kise-kun mind finishing it up for us?"

Kise blinks. "Um, no, of course not, but it's just that I might be late so – "

"It'll be fine!" Kagami catches on at long last and quickly produces a multi-layered sandwich. "It won't take you ten minutes."

"T-thanks." Luckily Kise isn't the type to question things, and obviously he's not in his perkiest, so he takes the sandwich and settles on the sofa.

As he exchanges a look of relief with Kagami, Kuroko just hopes that the idiot couple will make up today without any further drama – but even as he thinks that, he already knows it's impossible.

* * *

The taxi is literally _crawling_ forward, and Aomine wants to shout at the driver.

Kuroko texted him almost half an hour ago – when he just reached Midorima's house – that Kise had left, which means that Kise should be home by now. And because he usually changes at the photoshoot place, he won't be home for long.

Aomine looks down at the stalk of rose in his hand. Yes, no kidding, a stalk of red rose, which is supposedly his lucky item. When Midorima shoved it in his face earlier, Aomine was not too impressed (plus he could have bought it on his own), and Midorima was not too pleased by Aomine's reaction – or lack thereof.

"It's not just any rose," Midorima explained with a push of his specs. His mood seemed to have improved now that Loverboy put on some proper clothes (Aomine feels thankful for that, too). "It's a Scarlet Persian … … "

The rest of the chain of foreign words Aomine can't remember (all he knows is that it ended with a 'nanodayo' – when has it not?), but he sticks the flower into his shirt pocket anyway, hoping that it will really bring some good luck, and prevent his mouth from blurting out something insensitive and jerky.

So what should he say? No matter how sincere he is, saying something from Satsuki's soap opera is still impossible – although he has this feeling that Kise won't exactly mind hearing something cheesy like that.

When the taxi finally reaches his apartment, Aomine doesn't realise it and the taxi driver has to prompt him for the fares. He still hasn't figured out how to give a proper apology, and his mind feels like the gooey porridge that Kise tends to make when he ventures too near the rice cooker. It sure tastes bad, but it's all Aomine wants to eat right now.

Somehow Aomine's legs carry him to his front door, and he sees that the door is slightly ajar. Heartbeat rising slightly (he can be a damn schoolgirl with a crush, but he doesn't care about that anymore), he reaches underneath the doormat and finds that the spare key is gone.

All of a sudden he hears footsteps near the door, followed by the sound of shoes –

Aomine takes a deep breath –

"Ki – "

And then the front door opens right into his face.

* * *

**A/N: **I don't think there's a species of rose called Scarlet Persian something something, just made that up myself.

Thanks for the reviews, likes and follows! There will be one last chapter to follow after this (if I don't start writing all out of order again), and maybe an omake too. School's going to start soon, so hopefully I can finish this in time~


	5. No way in hell I'm gonna let you go

Having a door shoved into his face is way out of Aomine's expectations.

Completely thrown off his feet (far more literally than he would have liked), he hears a small squeal (eep, it's _always_ eep) and lifts his head just in time to see a blond figure running away rapidly.

_Kiseeeeeeee. _

"Oi, Kise! Wait up!" Aomine yells, but to his frustration, the blond does not stop but instead picks up speed. Everything will be screwed if he gets into the lift, and he's already reaching the end of the corridor. For a brief moment Aomine considers throwing his shoe at Kise; he knows he wouldn't miss but of course, that would probably be the worst way possible to start an apology, so he pulls himself to his feet and gives chase.

"_Kise_!"

The lift clicks 'ding' and _shit_, Kise's hurrying into it as though it were the escape pod of some doomed airship – _does he think he can get away_? Well, there's no way in hell Aomine's just going to let him go like this, not when he's right in front of him –

The lift's doors start to close and Kise heaves a sigh of relief, but his face freezes when Aomine jams a foot between the almost-closed doors.

"Just where…" As the lift opens again, Aomine pants but is triumphant all the same. "Do you think you're going?"

"I…" Kise adjusts his shoulder bag, not meeting Aomine's eyes. "I have a photoshoot later, so I need to go now. Please stop stepping on the lift."

"I'll stop if you come out."

"It'll be meaningless then…"

"Kise, _please_, just come here."

But Kise is still stubbornly turning away and Aomine figures that they can't just keep this stalemate going, so he takes one step forward and grabs Kise's wrist.

"No, don't – " Kise tries to wench his arm free but Aomine always had the tighter grip. Then all of a sudden Kise stops struggling and his expression changes to one of shock and… fright?

"You – you're bleeding, Aominecchi!" Kise exclaims, and Aomine just realises the throbbing pain in his nose. He wipes at his face, and his fingers come off slick with blood.

* * *

"I'm really sorry!" Kise squeaks for the fifth time in succession.

"I said it's fine, didn't I?" Aomine sighs. Apparently the impact of the door on his face caused a nosebleed, but now the bleeding's more or less stopped, and the throbbing pain has reduced to a dull ache. Most importantly, the bleeding is the thing that made Kise finally step out of the lift and come home obediently, so Aomine isn't really in the mood to complain right now.

"But – " The corners of Kise's eyes are slightly red, and he looks so much like a wounded puppy that Aomine just wants to push him down and –

_Self-restraint_, Aomine tells himself firmly. Self-restraint, or he'll just repeat the whole insensitive jerk cycle again. Instead, he settles for a (what he hopes to be) reassuring "It doesn't even hurt anymore".

"Really?" Kise perks up, and Aomine feels it's the appropriate timing for him to start his own apology, but then Kise's face falls in the next moment. "Then… I should go now," he mutters as he stands up, his shoulders shuddering a little. "It'll be rude if I made them wait."

It's obvious that Kise's trying to on a cold front on purpose, but it's this very fact that hurts. Aomine'd much rather Kise start bawling as usual than have him pretend that he's not on the verge of tears.

"Wait." Aomine reaches up and holds Kise's wrist, more gently than he had just now. "Don't go."

Kise doesn't turn around, but Aomine decides to take it as a good sign that the blond isn't shaking his hand off. Tracing Kise's hand with his own, he holds the long fingers lightly and gives them a soft squeeze. Kise gives another shudder.

"Please let go."

"No."

"Let go."

"I won't."

"Aominecchi," Kise says in a small voice, still with his back to Aomine. "You're always like this. You always become all gentle after a fight, because you know that I'll just give in… it – it's not fair like this, I…"

Aomine sighs, holding the trembling hand a little tighter. "Kise, turn around."

"No."

"Okay, then listen to me." It seems like it's the other way around now, so Aomine sighs again and starts in a softer voice. "I'm sorry."

Kise tenses at the two words; good or bad Aomine can't tell, but he decides to continue.

"I'm sorry I was insensitive, I'm sorry I just let you run out like that, I'm sorry I always make you cry, I – yeah, I'm really sorry," he finishes lamely, but he hears a loud, stifled sob. Getting to his feet immediately, Aomine turns Kise around gently, his chest constricting when he sees that the blond's eyes are shining with tears.

"I'm sorry," Aomine murmurs again before pulling Kise into his arms, feeling glad that the blond still fit perfectly within his embrace. It's been just one day, really, but it feels like it was so much longer and so many things could have happened. Kise shifts a little, and Aomine feels the blond's hair tickle his jaw, and _god_, it's the best feeling ever.

When Kise's shoulders stopped shuddering, Aomine withdrew slightly to kiss him lightly on the cheek. Now that his initial gusto is basically used up, he finds himself at a loss of what to say.

"Listen, I, uh, I think I might still be an insensitive jerk in the future – sometimes! Only sometimes! – but I'll try not to be. I really will." Aomine really hopes that this doesn't sound like an half-assed apology. "So I – I'll try not to do this again. I'm sorry, baby."

Aomine swears that Kise's smile through his tears is the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

"Aominecchi," Kise chuckles. "I bet you heard the last part from a soap opera, didn't you?"

"Hey! I'm trying to be sincere here!"

"I know," Kise beams as he leans his head on Aomine's shoulder. "I know."

Ruffling the blond's hair, Aomine can't help but grin like an idiot. He runs a hand along Kise's cheek and tilts his chin up for a kiss, but before he can actually get the kiss, a goddamned phone goes off.

"Oh crap," extracting himself from the embrace, Kise rushes off to his phone. "I forgot about the photoshoot!"

"Hah?"

"I'm supposed to be there an hour early, but now it's already – hello? Yes, I'm really sorry! …"

As Kise begins apologising profusely over the phone, Aomine pushes his hair back in irritation and slumps onto the couch. _Damn_, he doesn't want to be an insensitive jerk all over again, but he really wanted to touch Kise, to slide a hand up his shirt and – wait, just _what _is he wearing?

Narrowing his eyes, Aomine scrutinises the clothes Kise has on. The large T-shirt and baggy sweatpants definitely aren't his own clothing, and Aomine doesn't remember buying such ugly clothes either.

"Aominecchi, I'm really sorry!" Ah, good, Kise's hung up the phone too. "I have to go now, but I'll come back early! I promise!"

"Kise," Aomine says dangerously. "Whose clothes are you wearing?"

Not seeming to have realised Aomine's intentions, Kise launches into a round of what Aomine calls 'happy Kise chatter'. "Oh, these? Kagamicchi lent them to me last night, because I was… all drenched and stuff. Thanks for reminding me, actually! I'll have to wash them properly and return – "

The rest of Kise's sentence is lost as Aomine sealed his mouth with a kiss, slipping his tongue easily between the blond's lips. _This feels too good_, he thinks, as he nibs lightly at Kise's lower lip, earning a small moan and a hand clutching at his shirt. When they break apart they are both breathing heavily and Kise is water-eyed, and that is just too damn enticing for Aomine to hold back any longer.

"Wait, Aominecchi," Kise breathes. "My – my photoshoot."

"It's not my fault! Who told you to walk around in that Bakagami's clothes so happily!" Before this, Aomine would have laughed at the thought of getting jealous over something so trivial, but now, he _is _jealous over something so trivial, and he doesn't give a damn.

Kise looks momentarily surprised, then his face broke into a wide smile. "So shouldn't you do something to change that?"

"Hell yes," Aomine really wants to tear the stupid T-shirt open, but he figures he can't, so he settles for pulling it off Kise instead. "It's not my fault," he says again. "So you can't complain, alright?"

Kise's arms around his neck are more than enough of an answer.

* * *

**A/N: **So it's finally finished! To all of you, who are reading this right now, a really big thank you! And an equally big thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows! I really appreciate all the lovely comments, thank you so much~ Honestly, this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic, so I really didn't think that there'll actually be people reading this (OTL). I might be writing an AoKise fantasy AU too (it's just so fun writing about them), so it'll be great if you can tell me what you think!

Yep, once again, thanks so much for sticking to the end of this fic~


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